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An independent day school educating students PreK-Grade 12

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Debate Team Triumphs at January Tournament

The King Debate Team achieved a remarkable victory at the January 2025 Connecticut Debate Association (CDA) tournament, held at New Canaan High School on Saturday, January 11. Ryan Jakubowski ’26 and Steven Blanco ’26 emerged as champions, securing a decisive 3-0 victory against New Canaan High School in the varsity finals. This win marks a significant milestone for Ryan and Steven, who have steadily progressed in competitive debate over the past two years.

"I am thrilled as a coach to see Steven and Ryan succeed,” shared Debate Team Coach John Harrison. “They have demonstrated real tenacity and commitment to debate, and their efforts have now paid off with this victory."

The tournament featured 125 teams from 31 schools. In the parliamentary debate format, Ryan and Steven debated together, arguing both sides of the motion they were assigned at the tournament: "This House Believes that the U.S. should not defend Taiwan militarily." Over the course of the competition, they won all four preliminary rounds with a perfect 4-0 record. In the final round, they secured the championship with unanimous support from a panel of three judges.

To prepare for competitions, the debate team meets twice weekly to hone their skills in crafting arguments and rebuttals. Practices focus on building contentions, thinking critically about complex topics, and preparing for the unexpected, as competitions do not announce debate motions in advance.

“Everyone on the team contributes to the evidence and contentions that we put in our initial speeches,” said Steven, commending the impact on the entire team. “Our prep time is a team effort that helps us develop good arguments to carry throughout the day.”

Looking forward to upcoming tournaments, Steven noted the high standard the team has established this year.

“We've qualified eight debaters for Connecticut state finals, and we hope to see even more members secure spots at the February and March regular-season tournaments,” said Ryan. “I'm also looking forward to watching King continue to make inroads in the highly competitive New York Parliamentary Debate League, where pairs of our debaters have earned winning records on multiple occasions. It's been a great year for King debate, but we're only getting started.”

Special thanks to parent judges Vicky Powell P’26, ’30, and Michael Srihari P’27. Congratulations to the King Debate Team members below for their performance, and best of luck in the future!

Steven Blanco ’26
Matthew Cohen ’28
Phoebe Dai ’27
Ryan Jakubowski ’26
Madison Kennedy ’27
Oliver Lacour ’28
Justina Marque ’27
Ben Mazzullo ’26
Owen McGreevey ’26
Amy Powell ’26
Penelope Reiter ’26
Marilyn Sommerville ’27
Tyler Srihari ’27
Leon Wang ’26